Pavement marker



July 31, 1962 E. A. wlLsoN 3,046,854

PAVEMENT MARKER Filed Dec. 14, 1954 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 LEN U E". El

July 31, 1962 E. A. WILSON PAVEMENT MARKER 2 Sheets-Sheet '2 Filed Dec. 14, 1954 will;

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At the present time, it is customary to place stripes of paint down the center of paved roads, `along paved runways, etc., in order that these stripes may serve as guides for various vehicles. Frequently extremely small glass spheres, which are highly reiiective in nature, are included within such stripes in order that these stripes may be readily visible at night. A broad object of the present invention is to provide a method and apparatus for easily, conveniently and rapidly applying such marking stripes upon a paved surface.

'Ihe instant invention may be briey summarized as being concerned with various combinations of means, such as, for example, means for applying or spraying a stripe of paint, means for applying glass beads to a newly painted stripe, means for governing the operation of said means for spraying paint and for applying said glass beads, and other means as Vwill be more specifically indicated, and with procedures involving thel use of such means. The claims forming a part of this application more specifically dene this invention. The precise nature of the invention is described in detail in the remainder of this specification and the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a side view of a vehicle manufactured in accordance with this disclosure, this View being partially broken raway to illustrate various constructional details;

FIG. 2 isa top view of the device shown in FIG. 1, this view also being partially broken away to illustrate various constructional details;

FIG. 3 is `an enlarged View showing the means used to apply paint to a paved surface and to govern the application of such paint;

FIG.` 4 is a View illustrating a heating device which may be employed with the invention;

3,646,854 Patented July 31, 1962 figures of the drawings. Here this means is shown as comprising a frame supporting a horizontally disposed rod 42 upon which there are carried bushings 44 carrying guide rods 46. By adjusting the positions of these bushings 44 and the rods 46, it is possible Vto locate these members so that they will serve to -aid an individual sitting in a seat 48 upon the frame 12 in locating a marking stripe in a predetermined location as the apparatus 10 is being moved forward.

The cleaning means 2S employed with the embodiment of the invention illustrated incorporates ia simple air nozzle 50 which is designed -to blow dirt from an area to be painted, andi-to remove moisture from this same area. Air to accomplish these purposes is supplied to the nozzle 50 through an air line 52 leading from La compressed air tank 54. :,I'he ow of air to the nozzle 50 is normally controlled by a valve 56 located in the line 52.

The control means 30 is employed to govern the oper-V ation of the paint dispensing means 32 and the particle dispensing means 34 so as to actuate both of these latter mechanisms when the apparatus 10 is driven over a previously painted surface. In order to accomplish these ends, the control means 30 is located within a housing 58 which is attached to the frame 12 immediately adjacent the bottom of the apparatus 10 so that a photocell 62 (FIG. 3) receives light emitted from a light bulb 64 and reilected off a previously painted area. This photocell 62 is connected to a grid of a common vacuum tube 66 as shown in FIG. 5. In accordance with conventional practice, the cathode of the photocell 62 is grounded directly, while the cathode of the -tube 66 is grounded FIG. 5 is a wiring diagram of the controlling device which may be used in governing the application of paint with this invention; and

FIG. 6 is a greatly enlarged, diagrammatic, partial cross-sectional view of a paving stripe created in accordance with ythis disclosure.

In FIGS. l and 2 of the drawings there is shown an apparatus 10 of the present invention including a conventional `automotive-type frame 12 to which there are attached in the conventional manner front wheels 14, a steering mechanism 16, a steering Wheel 18, and rear Wheels 20. These rear wheels are designed to be propelled in a conventional manner by a motor 22 acting through the usual transmission and differential (not shown) commonly found on motor vehicles. Appropriate control means 24 such as pedals are provided upon the frame 12 for governing the operation of the motor 22 and the wheels 14 and 2t).

Attached tothe frame 12 is `a guide means 26, a cleaning means 28, a control means 30, a paint dispensing means 32, a particle dispenser means 34, and drying means 36. As is best apparent in FIG. 1 of the drawings, these various means are located in ya line, one behind another, starting at the front of the apparatus 10 immediately above a paved surface 3S upon which this apparatus is operated. Thus, when the apparatus l0 is used for the intended purpose, these various means can be sequentially employed in placing a marking stripe along a paved surface 38 as the apparatus 10 is moved in a forward direction.

The construction and function of the guide means 26 are readily apparent from an examination of the initial two through a cathode resistor 68. 'Ihe anode of the tube 66 is connected to a battery 7i) through a relay 72. When this relay is closed by virtue of the photocell 62 receiving light, the contacts within this relay `are closed allowing current yto pass through each of two substantially identical circuits A and B.

The A circuit is designed to provide power to a solenoid 74 under these circumstances to operate the paint dispensing means 32; the B circuit is similarly designed to provide power to a solenoid 76 to operate the particle dispensing means 34. Since the A and B circuits are substantially identical, only the A circuit is specifically described herein. In this latter circuit, the relay 72 is` connected through a potentiometer 7S and a grid resistor 80 to the grid of a vacuum tube 82. The junction of the v potentiometer 78 and the resistor 80 is grounded through a thermistor 84. The cathode of the tube 82 is grounded through a cathode resistor 86; the anode is connected to the battery 70 through the solenoid 74.

The potentiometer 78, and the other potentiometer in the B circuit are connected to a speedometer mechanism which, in turn, is connected by a speedometer cable S7 (FIG. 3) to a front Wheel '14. This cable 87 is attached to the front wheel 14 in a conventional manner. The mechanism 8S is employed to adjust the potentiometers indicated so as to vary the speed with which the solenoids 74 and 76 are actuated, so that, regardless of the speed of the apparatus 10, the location of particles and paint supplied by the paint and particle dispensing means 32 and 34 will coincide with one another and with a previously painted area.

As is best seen in FIG. 3, when the solenoid 74 is actuated, a plunger 88 in the paint dispensing means 32 is actuated, allowing air to travel through a pipe 90 from the air line S2 so as to pull paint through a pipe 92 from paint supply tanks 94 through a spray gun 96 onto the paved surface 38. Thus, when the photocell 62 is actuated by reected light from the bulk 6 4, the paint dispensiug means 32 is 4automatically brought into operation.

When the solenoid 76 is-=actuated by light hitting the photocell 62, a plunger 100 within the particle dispensing Y means 34 is pulled in Van upward direction from the posi- Vline ,'52v passes through a pipe 106 and a nozzle 10810- wardsthe surface38, tending to drive particles from the passage 104 onto this surface, and embed these parti'- cles into the paint and normally into `a fresh stripe of paint placed upon this surface by thepaintrdispensing meansv 32. V I

, The mannerin which such particles. are held within a painted" stripe is indicated in FIG. 6 of the. drawings. Here there` is shown a stripe of paint 107 within which there are embedded particles 109. These particles are normally driveninto a fresh stripe of paint so as to be heldwithin this paint as indicated in FIG. 6.

The, Condition oftheA paint and lthe particles dispensed by the means 32 and'34.. as they arey supplied to these means during normal operation ofthe apparatus is important with respecttothe quality of themarking stripe created., Generally, this. paint is best kept agitated, and

paddlesll, are provided withinthe paint tanks,9v4 for this, purpose. `lurther, with traicl type paint a more lasting, painted stripe is` obtained if it isA applied at an elevated temperature, preferably within'tlre range offrom'about 75"Y to. about 85,.o F. Y Not` only isa more lasting paint stripe: obtained Qbythis expedient, but4 the use of such elevated .temperatures aids in the removal of volatiles fromV the paint upon applicationyand promotes rapid drying,

' In orderv to/accomplishthis end, the tanks 94 are provided with heating jackets 112 and thermostatically controlled valves114 (FIG.l 2) serving to govern the admission of heating uid to` these jackets. Y f

The water normally circulated Within theseU jackets 112, is the cooling water from the motor 22 and from another motor 116, hereinafter described; this Water is'cir-V culatedr to'r and .from'the jackets by a system of pipes 118 which serves to connect the cooling waterv outlets;of these motors@ inparallel. theseA jackets-112 and with a conventional automotive type radiator 121).Vv Thus, with this construction, cooling- Water from the motors 22` and 1:16 may'either go through the radiator 120 or thejackets. 1-12, depending'uponi whether or notjthe valves 1141 are open; if they are closed, all coolinggwater fro'mthe motorsV goes through theradiator 120, otherwise; only a fraction of this water goes through this radiator.- e

The motor 116 is usedV primarily to supply-power' to a belt, andepulley` system- 122 connecting this motor to an air compressor y124 and'to the paddles l110v within the paint tanks. ThisY compressor 1%24 isem'pl'oyedi to supply compressed air. througlra pipe 126 to the; tank 54;.the function of the paddles is as previously indicated. n The ext haust outlets fromboth the-motors-22Yand1-16iare joined by pipes 128Yleadingto aA heating jacket 130` surrounding Va particlehopper 132.

The primefunctioncf the particle hopperi 132 is to supply particles which it'is desired to vvembed -withinastripe of.paint toY the particle dispensing means 34 through the Y particle passage 104; A-wide;varety of dierent particles may, ofvcourse, beembeddedinx paint'forY this broad purpose.. The preferred particles for such use. are small. reective glass-spheres, preferably Within the sze'rangeoffrom about %000" to about 31/1000" in diameter. Such spheresareextremely hydroscopicy in nature, and, if exposed to either the air or the exhaustl gases; pickup suf-- cient moisture eso thatY they do'not readily embed or hondvthemselveswithin a-paintstrip. Further, they adjY heremost satisfactorily onto or within va paint z stripe when placed-upon such astripe at a relatively high temperature undercpressure. Generally, temperatures of'fromabout 150 to 2509,71".Y are satisfactory-with the rapplication of glassspheres-ofthe classV indicated whatistermed in the trade traftic paint. Such use ofheated particles also aids in the drying of paint.

In order to prevent the contractofiparticles within the hopper 132 with air from which such particles would normally absorb water vapor, the hopper 132 is, as shown in FIG. l, closed. Further, Ythe heating jacket 130 around this hopper is located in such a manner that at no time is there any `opportunity of contact between exhaust gases in this jacket and such particles. A vent means 134 is provided `at the top of the jacket 130 for the obvious purpose of removing spent exhaust gases.

On many occasions, it is desired to more precisely control t-he temperature of thepart-icles supplied to the parf ticle dispensing means 34 than can be accomplished through the use of a heating jacket 130.A VF or this purpose,Y la structure such asis shown in FIG.V4 of the drawings can.Y ibe. inserted "around the particle passage 104. This strucf ture consists of an electric resistance member 136 which is controlled by means of a thermostat 138. o

Iti'snormally not necessary with the present invention to provide any agitating means lto insure ia steady supply of small particles to the particle dispensing means 34 inasmuch as the particles normally employed are exceedingly small, and inasmuch as the apparatus 10 vibrates a great deal during use, preventing piling up of'such particles.

The drying means 36 normally employed with the inj 't stant invention is coupled to the pipes 128 so as to be con` trolled by 1a valve 140 located at the junction of a' pipe= 142 forming a part of this drying means 36 and a pipe 128; The pipe ,t 142 merely leads to a hood 144 which is de signed to convey Yexhaust gases directly onto the paved sur,` face 38 so as to dry any paint placed upon such surface.A The amount ofdryingaction of the drying means 36 may be varied Within wide limits.V In general, howeverjtliev larger the quantity of exhaust gas supplied to this drying Y means, the more complete actionV of such means, and, v

ing equipment will realize, this is a-very'distinct improve-k ment overthe prior yart. Further, marking stripes createdin laccordancewith this disclosure are partially driedV or.`

set'initia1ly, and can `be driven over by cars, etc. Without trackingof paint in'a very short period. Not only i's'thevapparatus of the instant invention distinguished by virtue of the speed with which it may be operated, but it' is also distinguished because the complete marking srtiperv placed' upon'v a paved surface with this apparatus tends to "be exceedingly lasting in character when subjected to types ofwear. Y Y

It is obviousl from a considenation of the foregoing i descriptionand drawings that a number of modications may be made within the scope of the present disclosure. As an exampleiof such modications, it is possible to substitute a brush for the precise cleaning means V28l shown. Fur-ther, different constructions than those specifically shown'in the drawings serving to dispense paint and Ydispense particles maybe employed if desired. It is obviousv that virtually -any combination of the means 28,. 30, 32, 34l and 36, previouslyV described,may ybe useful for many specic applications. As an example of pointit is frequently possible to place very satisfactory painted stripes upon highways and the like, omitting the use of particles. When the apparatus 10 is used for such purpose, they particle dispensing means 34 may be omitted.

Also', on many occasions it is possible to omit the cleaning means, the control means, or the drying means, although aneiective apparatus capable of accomplishing the functionY of the present invention-isonly obtained by using all: of these meanssimultaneously. For many purposes,

however, the essential featuresl of the invention can` beY obtained byomitting one ortwo of the specific means described. Thus, insteadv of the.` precise' control means shown, it is possible to actuate the means 32 and 34 by manually operated valves or switches of a type known to the art. All modicatiors of the character indicated herein which are Within the skill of the art are to be considered as part of the inventive concept insofar as they are dened by the appended claims.

I claim as my invention:

1. An apparatus for rapidly applying a stripe of paint to a surface, which comprises: a wheeled vehicle; means attached to said vehicle for depositing paint on said surface beneath said vehicle; and means responsive to the speed of said vehicle and to a stripe of paint already on said surface ahead of said 4means for depositing paint for actuating said means lfor depositing paint whereby a paint stripe is applied by said apparatus only upon said previously painted stripe as said wheeled vehicle is moved along said surface.

2. An apparatus for rapidly applying a stripe of paint to a surface, which comprises: a wheeled vehicle; means attached to said vehicle for depositing paint on said surface beneath said vehicle; means attached to said vehicle for placing reflective particles in paint which has been deposited on said surface by said means for depositing paint; and control means responsive to the speed of said Vehicle and to a stripe of paint already on said surface ahead of said means for depositing paint, for actuating said means for depositing paint, and for actuating said means for placing reilective particles whereby a paint stripe and reflective particles :are applied by said apparatus only when said previously painted stripe as said wheeled vehicle is moved along said surface.

3. An apparatus as dened in claim 2, in which said control means includes serially connected switch means, delay means and power means, said switch means being responsive to said stripe already on `said surface for energizing said power means through said delay means, said delay means being automatically variable as a function of the speed of said vehicle, said power means actuating said means for depositing paint and said means for placing particles.

4. An apparatus for rapidly applying a stripe `of paint to a surface, Which comprises: a wheeled vehicle; means attached to said vehicle for heating paint; means attached to said Vehicle for depositing the heated paint on said surface; means attached to said vehicle for heating small reective particles; means attached to said vehicle for placing the heated particles in the heated paint which has been deposited on said surface; and control means responsive to the speed of said vehicle and to a stripe of paint already on said surface ahead of said means for depositing paint, for turning said means for depositing paint oft and on, and for turning said means for placing particles off and on, whereby a paint stripe and reflective particles are applied by said apparatus only upon said previously painted stripe as said wheeled vehicle is moved along said surface.

References Cited in the tile of this patent UNlTED STATES PATENTS 937,660 Tomer Oct. 19, 1909 1,546,185 Andresen July 14, 1925 1,610,773 Hansen Dec. 14, 1926 2,031,262 Hill Feb. 18, 1936 2,076,172 Bowden Apr. 6, 1937 2,076,370 Hollingshead Apr. Y6, `1937 2,241,863 Lett May 13, 1941 2,330,843 Rodli et al Oct. 5, 1943 2,366,754 Rodli June 9, 1945 2,689,801 DAlelio Sept. 21, 1954 2,691,923 Huck Oct. 19, 1954 2,797,171 Fralish June 25, 1957 2,821,890 Wilson Feb. 4, 1958 FOREIGN PATENTS 705,457 Great Britain Mar. 10, 1954 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CERTIFICATE 0F CORRECTION Patent N0. 3g046854 July 31, 1962 Ellery A. Wilson It is hereby certified that error appears in the above numbered patent requiring correction and that the said Letters Patent should read as corrected below.

Column 3, line T5, for "contract" read Contact column 5, line 30, for "when" read upon Signed and sealed this 11th day of December 1962.

(SEAL) Attest:

rERNEST w. swIDER DAVID L- LADD Attesting Uffier Commissioner of Patents 

